This Swirling Storm Inside
by Coat-Rack96
Summary: Frozen AU. Admiral Nels Erakson has a very chilling past. He is in command of the mightiest ships of the Royal Sitnaltan Navy and has seen more than his fair share of hardships in his short life. But his world is turned upside-down when he is invited to the coronation of Arendelle's new queen. Rated M for language.
1. Prologue

**Hey guys. This is my first fic, so I hope you enjoy it. I loved the idea of Hans originally being Admiral Westerguard, which gave me the idea of my OC. I'm a huge nerd when it comes to ships and sailing, so I just thought "Why not?" This was set in the mid-1600's, just judging by several things I saw in Frozen (Clothing, ships in the movie, crossbows, architecture). I rated it M to give myself more creative liberties with the dialogue (these are sailors after all), but there probably won't be any smut. I have no clue how to write smut or even fluff (huzzah for being socially awkward!) Feel free to PM me with any suggestions for where the story should go! I also tend to get a little comma-happy so I'll try to keep that to a down-low. Thanks again and enjoy! – Coat-Rack96**

_A winter wind whipped through the riggings of two ships. The crews were locked in combat, battling for dear life. A young boy, no more than 15 years old and dressed in a midshipman's uniform, dashed around the deck of one ship, a longbow in his hand, dodging away from wicked sword slashes and hacks. An empty quiver rested on his right hip. The deck was strewn with gigantic splinters, eviscerated bodies, and cannon shot. Ice spiderwebbed out from his feet at each step he took, causing the already-slick deck to become even worse. He tripped over a dead sailor's corpse, his bow sliding through the mobs of fighting men. He glanced up only to see the feet of another sailor, a sword in his right hand dripping with blood. The boy scrambled back, only to see the sailor pursue him. His hand shot up, and a bolt of white-blue light flew out, and struck the sailor in the head. He toppled forward, landing next to the frightened boy. The boy gasped and crawled toward him, cradling the wounded sailor's head in his lap as tears began to stream down his face. The wind stopped howling and the snow froze in place. The commotion on both ships ceased as all heads turned to the weeping boy. All enemy sailors began dropping their weapons as they saw the ice crawling out from beneath him. The battle had been won, but the boy had lost. His tears froze as they fell onto the blank face of his twin brother._


	2. Chapter 1: New Orders

**Hey it's Coat-Rack96 again! Thanks for making it all the way to the first (technically second) chapter. Sorry if this is boring, I'll try to make it interesting. There will be several chapters before we actually reach Arendelle, so sorry about that. I will be giving the definitions of certain parts of a ship if the readers need it, because I go in-depth with the descriptions. **

Waves gently rocked the _RSS Boreas_ back and forth in the harbor. Her commanding officer, Vice Admiral Nels Erakson, sat in his cabin. He was extremely young for an officer, only twenty, and very handsome. He had platinum blonde hair, ice blue eyes, and pale skin, and often heard women comparing his looks to those of Alexander the Great. _What would they know_, he thought. _He died two thousand years ago. They've only seen statues of him_. Still, the resemblance to the dead king was uncanny, and he received almost ten requests a day from nobles trying to marry their daughters to him. He sighed and glanced at a letter he had been given three days before when the _Boreas_ had docked at Jorgenhale.

_From the Grand Prince Alexander of Sitnalta,_

_V. Adm. N. Erakson_

_You have been requested to escort His Highness Grand Prince Alexander of Sitnalta, as well as the rest of the Sitnaltan envoy, to the kingdom of Arendelle to celebrate the coronation of their Queen, Crown Princess Elsa, on the Fifth of June. The Royal Sitnaltan Ship Boreas is to set course for the capital city of Victoria. It's current duties of patrolling the Northern Seas against the growing Gallic threat shall be given to the Royal Sitnaltan Ship Aurora. The RSS Boreas will be re-stocked with provisions upon your arrival in Victoria. Your passengers shall arrive at the wharfs on May the Twenty-Eighth. Be prepared to set sail for Arendelle by May the Twenty-Ninth._

Nels set the letter down and sighed. His crew wasn't happy about the assignment. They were Royal Sitnaltan Navy, the best in the world. Nobody else even came close to matching their skills before the mast. Not to mention the rivalry between the crews of the _Boreas_ and the _Aurora_. The two men-o-war were commissioned to be built as twin ship, and the crews strove to out-perform the other. He stood up and put on a dark blue long coat, which stood out against his white shirt and light blue waistcoat (vest). He tucked his trousers into a pair of knee-length riding boots.

The admiral gave the letter one last look-over before putting on his hat, a pointed tricorn with large white plumes, and striding out onto the weather deck. His passengers would be arriving soon.


	3. Chapter 2: The Prince

**Good [insert current time of day here] fellow Frozen fanatics! This is the third installment of ****This Swirling Storm Inside****! Again, please rate and review, I could use the help. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Frozen**

A light breeze blew through the masts and lines of the Boreas. Nels watched as men hauled barrels of salt pork, water, liquor, and hardtack into the ship's hold. He had denied shore leave to all hands except for the midshipmen, who he had sent out to escort the passengers to the ship. Most of the sailors were down in the mess deck gambling or singing or fighting.

He looked out to the docks. The first of his passengers were arriving at the ship. A very large man accompanied an even larger woman down the dock. They moved fast despite their considerable girth. The midshipman struggled to keep up with the pair as he hauled two large trunks behind him. "Admiral," he called, "the Duke and Duchess of Victoria!"

The nobles stopped at the gangplank and looked down warily at the water below. "Is there another way to get on?" asked the duke.

_Why? Worried that your fat ass will break the gangplank_, Nels thought, glancing at the man. "Sorry milord. That's the only way on or off. Mister Jones, please show them to their births on the orlop deck. And please," he turned now to the nobles, "try to excuse the smell. We've been at sea for three months." The midshipman pulled the trunks onto the deck. The duke and duchess hadn't budged. "Milord? Milady?"

Nels called for two marines, who came running. "Please show the duke and duchess to their berths on the orlop deck." The marines had to drag the two fussing nobles down below. _Oh I just can't wait. A whole week of sailing with them_ he thought as he heard the duchess begin whining about the smell from two decks below.

Now the only one left was Grand Prince Alexander, the heir to the Sitnaltan throne and Nels's cousin.

The prince and his escort arrived about an hour later, accompanied by a squad of royal guards, a fancily dressed man with a small goatee, and a young woman with short brunette hair. "Admiral," the midshipman said, "may I present His Highness Grand Prince Alexander of Sitnalta." The prince walked regally onto the ship. Nels instantly whipped his hat off his head, placed it over his heart, and bowed. "Your highness, it is an honor to be your escort on this voyage. But all formalities aside—" He placed his hat back on his head and pulled the prince into a tight hug. "It's good to see you Alex."

The procession stood awkwardly for several questions before the admiral let Alexander go. "Ahem." They turned to look at the midshipman. "Prince Eugene and Princess Rapunzel of Corona. Their ship's sprung a bit of a leak so they'll be travelling with you."

_I thought she was supposed to have long gold hair. Like really long._ Nels gave the couple the same bow he had given to Alexander. He began to lean in to kiss Rapunzel's hand before Eugene stopped him. "She's taken," he said, holding up their hands to show Nels the wedding rings.

"I'll kiss yours if you like," the admiral said, chuckling and gesturing to Eugene's hand, leaving a shocked look on the other man's face.

He turned to the midshipman. "Take the guards down to the marines' quarters. They'll bunk with them." Turning to the two princes and the princess, he said "I'll show you to your berths," and led them below decks.

**Wait! Eugene and Rapunzel are going to be in this too? I guess they had to get to Arendelle for that one little scene somehow. Anyway, thanks again for reading and stay tuned for the next update! In the meantime, go forth and be a force of awesome! – Coat-Rack96**


	4. Chapter 3: Bon Voyage!

**AN: Hey guys, sorry for not updating in a while. This chapter is significantly longer than the others, and I'm going to try to keep cranking them out this size. For those of you who are unfamiliar with ships, here's a basic explanation of their anatomy:**

**Bow: Front**

**Stern: Back**

**Fore: Towards the bow**

**Aft: Towards the stern**

**Starboard: Right**

**Larboard/Port: Left**

**Weather Deck: A ship's main deck, where most of the action happens**

**Quarterdeck: Aft of the weather deck, where the wheel and mizzenmast are located**

**Poop Deck: Aftmost deck. Also the highest point on the ship's decks.**

**Fore/Main/Mizzenmast: Front, middle (and biggest), and rear masts on a 3-masted ship**

**Orlop deck: Lowest deck on a ship**

**Again, thank you guys so much for reading this, it means a lot to me. There'll be several more chapters before we reach Arendelle. Please write a review, and message me with any questions/comments/suggestions. And as always, go forth and be a force of awesome. – Coat-Rack96**

**Disclaimer: I still do not own Frozen or Tangled. I do, however, own my OC's.**

Prince Alexander had demanded that he share Nels's cabin. Nobody on board had any authority to say otherwise. Needless to say, he wasn't happy when the admiral got up at four the next morning to rouse the lieutenants, bosun, and quartermasters. The sun wasn't up yet, and the moon shone brightly in the sky.

Nels made a quick stop on the orlop deck (the lowest deck on the ship, where most of the food is stored. See also: hold) to grab several biscuits of hardtack for himself and the quartermasters. He looked in to the duke and duchess's cabin to see them snoring away in their hammocks. He turned around and gave a startled yelp, dropping the biscuits. Rapunzel was standing right behind him, her green eyes wide and pleading. "Please don't freak out," she said, and he froze mid-scream. After several seconds he calmed down enough to talk to her.

"Jesus Christ Rapunzel, don't do that!" he cried before slapping his hand over his mouth, realizing what he had just said.

"It's fine. You don't have to be all fancy around me or Eugene." She took a whiff of the foul air. "All night down here and it still smells like shit!" she exclaimed, causing Nels to hit his head off the ceiling laughing. "What?"

"It's just…I … you … royal … cursing like a sailor!" He said between howls of laughter. "The crew'll like you!" He struggled to pick up the dropped hardtack and began walking toward the stairs, still chuckling. "It smells better up top," he said, gesturing for her to follow him. "Want one?" he asked, biting into a biscuit with a crunch and a wince. "We call it hardtack, and for a reason. But don't worry," he said "it won't knock out ALL your teeth." She took one and nibbled it gently, grimacing as she struggled to bite through it. "It tastes like the ship smells," he added as she began to cough it out. "It's the only food we have on board, so you'll need to learn to like it."

The pair emerged on the weather deck to see the crew meandering around, still half asleep, and wouldn't wake up until breakfast. He strode up to the quarterdeck, just aft of the weather deck, and placed one hand on the wheel. "Up the fore and main!" he called. "Get those gallants and tops'ls into the wind!" Rapunzel stood beside him, staring at him as if he were speaking Chinese. The crew, however, scrambled up the ratlines on the foremast and mainmast to the highest sails. The canvas unfurled, and the ship gave a small lurch forward. Nels breathed in the salty smell of the sea as they pulled out of the harbor. "It's good to be back," he said to nobody in particular. He turned to Rapunzel. "I hope you don't mind getting wet. We'll be at full sail once we're out of the harbor, and the waves out here can get rough. We're trying to reach Arendelle as quickly as possible, so the only time we'll be dropping anchor is if a storm blows up," he said, giving the sky a quick glance. "We furl all canvas at night. Every day will start about like today did, but no two days at sea are exactly the same."

**4 hours later, the open ocean.**

Salt water sprayed up as the _Boreas_ plowed through the sea. The swells rocked her from bow to stern. Nels stood at the fo'c's'le, howling in delight as the freezing water sprayed up around him. The nobles were also up at the bow, getting drenched. But unlike Nels, they were emptying their stomachs into the sea. "Oh come on!" he called to them. "It's not that bad!"

"That's easy for you to-" Alex started before he retched over the side again. "Goddammit Nels! What the hell did you feed us?!" He turned and began dry heaving, his stomach empty. He and the rest of the nobles all had a very noticeable slur in their speech.

"Same shit we eat every day," Nels said as another wave washed over him. The cold didn't bother him. It never had. But the nobles screeched like wet cats as the freezing water struck them. "Hardtack and coffee!"

"Coffee my ass!" shouted the duke. "I thought we were drinking tar!"

Nels laughed. "You're not far off! We've had that stuff on here for the past two voyages. About seven months!" He counted them off on his fingers. _Seven-month-old tar and about three beers worth of alcohol in each cup_ he thought to himself.

"Sev-" everybody lurched over the rails again, throwing up whatever they had managed to keep down. "How the hell do you survive on these things?"

"Eat with the lights off," the admiral called over his shoulder, glancing down into the ship's wake.

"And what dood does that do?" Eugene yelled.

"It's so you can't see the maggots."

"Oh god-". More vomiting.

"The smell doesn't seem so bad now, does it?" Nels asked Rapunzel who was still heaving over the side. He looked back down. "Check it out! Porpoises!"

She instantly pulled herself up and staggered over to him, almost throwing herself overboard. "Where?"

"Right there." He pointed down into the wake, where the porpoises were leaping out of the water in front of the ship. A young powder monkey ran to the bow, only to have a bosun drag him back. "Leave him be," Nels said sharply to the bosun.

"Aye sir," the bosun grumbled, letting go of the boy.

"Admiral Erakson!" a voice called out from the quarterdeck.

"Be right back," he said to his passengers as he hurried aft.

"What the hell did you do to them?" First Lieutenant Thomas Gates demanded.

"Just fed them and gave them coffee, lieutenant. Nothing else." _Shit, he's on to me_, Nels thought.

"Then why are they staggering around like old drunken salts?" Gates asked.

"Don't have their sea legs yet?" Nels said, feigning innocence a little too obviously.

"Nels, did you- oh God, you did, didn't you?!"

"What?"

"You spiked their coffee!"

Nels faked stunned surprise. "Why I would never – Lieutenant, I am one of the highest ranking officers of the Northern Sitnaltan Fleet, and you have the balls to accuse me of spiking their coffee? Are you a mutineer?" His voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Nels, just because you-"

"Because I did," he said, grinning from ear to ear.

"WHAT?!"

"Don't worry, I only gave them a half-dose of firewater though."

"A half dose – Nels, half a dose of that shit can put even a Russian on his ass! Technically, it's not even legal in Sitnalta! It's over 190 proof! And it seems to me," the lieutenant shot a glance at the passengers, "none of them can hold their liquor."

"Gates, even our youngest sailors can handle it. That stuff's as sweet as a mother's milk to me."

"You've been in the navy for the past six years! You've had three full doses of that stuff almost every day! They won't be able to handle it!"

They turned to watch as the duke and duchess staggered to the passageway, slipping and falling all the way to the mess deck. The two officers tried their hardest not to laugh as the duchess's foul language tore through the morning. Nels glanced at Gates, who was sinking his teeth into his lips to keep from bursting, his face a shade of beet red. The admiral lost it, rolling around on the quarterdeck at the sight of the lieutenant. Nels's laughter set off Gates, who had to lean against the railing to keep from falling over. Nels laughed until his ribs ached, the commotion drawing the eyes of the buzzed or drunk nobles, who began laughing at the officers' behavior. Only the quartermaster and the regular sailors were able to keep from rolling around on the deck giggling like schoolchildren. "Full dose in their grog?" Nels was finally able to ask, tears streaming down his smiling face.

"Don't you dare," Gates shot back, refusing to show Nels the grin etched into his own face.


	5. Sail Ho!

**AN: Hey guys, it's me again. I hope you enjoy the next chapter. Nels tries to have a bit more fun with his land-loving passengers, and it ends up going sour for him. We learn of an old enemy. But I'm not going to spoil everything. Read on!**

**Disclaimer: Disney owns Frozen. I only own a DVD and Blu-Ray copy of it.**

Day 2 of the voyage.

"Beat to quarters!" Nels cried to the marine drummer boy, who began beating on his drum. It was early in the morning, about six-thirty, and none of the passengers were up. The admiral had decided to have a bit more fun with them.

Most of the crew ran below to the gun deck to man the cannons. Those who stayed above were manning the lighter guns. The _Boreas_ carried a total of 54 cannons, huge for a frigate, and putting her as a fourth-rate ship-of-the-line. Her gun deck held 36 thirty-two pounders, leaving 16 twenty-four pounders on the weather deck, and two more thirty-two pounders in the admiral's cabin, pointing aft. The guns were always loaded when the ship was at sea, even on a diplomatic mission such as this.

Nels walked to the passageway leading down into the gun deck. All the gun crews had pushed the parrels of their guns through the gun ports and were looking at him anxiously. "First crew to fire, reload, and fire again gets an extra ration of grog at dinner!" he yelled to the gunners. He turned and took his position back on the quarterdeck. Lieutenant Peterson stood in the passageway from the gun deck to the weather deck. Gates stood next to the admiral.

"The prince will kill you for this, especially after what you pulled yesterday."

"He's my cousin, Tom. He would never hurt me."

Gates scoffed. "I'll see you in Hell then, sir."

Nels rolled his eyes and turned to Peterson, a fiendish gleam in his eye. "Light 'em up!" he shouted to the lieutenant, who relayed the fire order to the gun crews.

**Rapunzel's POV**

Rapunzel lay in her hammock on the orlop deck. She had been woken by the commotion of the sailors scrambling about early in the morning but now… a calm silence had fallen over the ship. She turned one sleepy eye to Eugene, who dozed in his hammock, snoring heavily. Her head pounded from the day before, when the admiral had decided it would be funny to get everybody drunk.

KERRRANG!

A terrific roar shattered the silence, the whole ship quaking and scaring her beyond words. In her fright, she fell from her hammock.

Screaming, the brunette hit the deck with a thud. Her ears were ringing too loud to hear anything. Beside her, Eugene fell and smacked his head off the deck, adding to his already-bad headache. His lips moved but no sound came out, his eyes were huge with terror, like when she had healed his hand with her hair. The duke and duchess, however, could clearly be heard screaming obscenities from their own cabin.

Another ferocious explosion tore through the morning. Her ears now rang like church bells, and her head felt like it had been used for batting practice.

She staggered out of her cabin, her hands clutched tight around her ringing ears. She struggled up the passageway to the mess deck, then up to the gun deck, where she was greeted by cheering sailors and thick, choking clouds of smoke. "What the HELL is going on?" Rapunzel demanded.

The cheering stopped instantly. All eyes turned to Peterson, who took a small step back. A whimper escaped him as he saw the murderous look on her face. He pointed up to the quarterdeck. Prince Alex shoved past them and sprinted up the passageway, Rapunzel close behind him.

**Nels's POV**

Alex and Rapunzel emerged from the gun deck, a crazed, almost blood-hungry look on each of their faces. Nels backed up against the railing as Alex approached. Small bits of ice formed from each step, but luckily went unnoticed. All attention was on the admiral and prince. "Now Alex-"

His explanation was cut short when Alex grabbed his cousin by the collar and punched him in the face with a loud THWACK, sending Nels arcing over the rail and onto the weather deck, where he lay unmoving.

The officer groaned and brought his hand up to his nose, which was streaming with blood. He struggled to pull himself to his feet.

"If there's any more of this shit, I'll fucking hang you," Alex declared. Nels, though socially awkward, could usually tell when somebody was lying. Alex wasn't.

**Day 3 of the voyage.**

Nels sat in his cabin, dozing in his hammock. He had just come off of a four-hour long officer's watch, which they worked on and off. A commotion on deck startled him out of his slumber. He stepped out to find the drummer boy beating "to quarters." Lieutenant Gates was shouting orders to the men to keep the tops and gallants out, but furl the mains. Marines ran to their posts at the rails, armed with crossbows and muskets. "What the hell is going on?" Nels shouted to Gates over the commotion.

"We've spotted a Gallic man-o-war! Frigate, thirty-plus guns by the look of her!"

The Gallics. Twelve years ago, they had declared war on Sitnalta, invading several virtually defenseless colonies in the West Indies. The Sitnaltan Royal Navy outnumbered them, outgunned them, and beat them at every turn. But the Gallics wouldn't give up, a trait Nels admired and loathed at the same time.

Nels ducked back into his cabin, pulling on his coat and hat and grabbing a huge longbow that leaned in one corner. He tore through the room until he found a quiver of two dozen arrows. He strung the bow and hauled the cord back behind his ear. It was an English war bow, used mostly during the Hundred Years' War, and was longer than he was tall. Even the strongest marine or bosun on board couldn't pull it back more than a hands' width. _You still bend. Glad to see it_, he thought as he unstrung the bow and put the cord on his belt. He wasn't a great shot with a musket, and could loose three to four arrows in the time it took a rifleman to reload after just one shot.

All the passengers had gathered on the quarter deck, talking to Gates with panicked voices. "What's going on? Is it another drill? We already drilled today! Is-"

"Enough!" Gates cut in. "We've spotted a hostile ship." Nels walked up to the group. "Admiral, if we could get ourselves a little closer and swing hard to starboard, our larboard guns could rake their stern."

"That would work lieutenant, under normal circumstances. But these certainly aren't normal, and I'm not going to start this fight."

"What?"

"You heard me, Gates. We're not going to start this fight. If we're fired upon we'll return fire, sure. But we're on a diplomatic mission now, and I'd like to avoid getting our passengers pulverized, shredded, maimed, or torn into little pieces," the admiral stated. The duke went pale, the duchess almost fainted, and the prince's eyes widened. Only Eugene and Rapunzel remained calm. _So they've seen some action before. Probably not much, but still, they've at least been in mortal danger. WELL OF COURSE they've been in mortal danger, you idiot. How else would she have brought him back to life?_ He thought. "In fact," he added, "It would probably be best if you went back down to the orlop deck. It's below the waterline, shouldn't get hit. Probably. Rapunzel, Eugene, you two go down and help Doctor Gibbs. He's our surgeon." The duke, duchess, and prince all went back down, but Rapunzel and Eugene remained on deck. "Is something wrong, aside from the possibility of our impending doom? Don't worry, we've got her outgunned."

"It's not that, Admiral, it's just… why do you want us helping out the doctor?" Rapunzel asked.

"A little birdy told me that you saved Eugene's life with sun magic. That you brought him back from the dead." Gates's eyes bulged out of their sockets.

"You heard that?" she almost screamed.

"Don't worry, your secret's safe with us. Right Lieutenant?" He elbowed Gates hard in the stomach.

"Right!"

"Glad to hear it." The two officers turned their attention to the Gallic ship, which, despite being at full sail, they were gaining on. Nels held his telescope to his eye while Gates resumed shouting orders. "Double shot the guns! Sink them as fast as you can shoot!" A small fluttering movement on the deck of the Gallic ship caught Nels' eye.

**Thanks for reading another chapter! I hope you guys liked this one. Yes, this is a Frozen fic, we'll get to Arendelle soon. And by soon, I mean in like 3-ish chapters. But first we have to go through a Gallic man-o-war, a hurricane, and a haunting past.**

**And for those of you who were wondering or didn't notice, Sitnalta is just Atlantis spelled backwards. Gallica is the home of the Gallics, which is based off of Gaul, the inhabitants of which were the Galls, or Gallic. They fought the Romans.**

**Again, thanks for reading. While we're waiting for another chapter, don't forget to go forth and be a force of awesome! – Coat-Rack96**


	6. The Oncoming Storm

**AN: Hey guys, it's me, Rack. Sorry for the delays in updating, I had a couple of summer camps that I went to. But enough about me. I was I little rushed to get this done so I didn't send it out to be reviewed. Sorry for any errors in it. the On to the story!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Frozen.**

"Belay that!" Nels barked, lowering the telescope from his face. "Lieutenant, I'm not going to sink an enemy ship and leave her crew to drown, but we're sure as shit not brining any prisoners on board with who we already have on this ship. I'm also not going to just sail a fifty-four gun man-o-war into one of our ALLIES ports, especially when we're supposed to try promoting peace between us and the new queen. But it looks like we don't have to." He raised the telescope again, and then handed it to Gates. A figure on the Gallic ship was waving a large white flag. "They're calling for a parley." The admiral turned to the flag officer on the poop deck. "Lieutenant Witchall! Raise the flag for parley up the mainmast." Turning to the crew, "Return to your stations! Bring us up alongside her!"

Gates turned to the admiral, still confused about Rapunzel. "What do you mean she brought Prince Eugene back from the dead?"

"What?"

"You know. Princess Rapunzel. You said she brought Eugene back from the dead."

Nels looked at the officer. "It's just what I heard. He was killed by a witch and she saved him. Anyway, that's what the men have been saying, but I wouldn't say it's all true. You know how badly sailors exaggerate stories."

"But her reaction to it…"

"That's true. Still, it's nice to know we may have someone who can actually keep our sailors alive on this ship. Gibbs doesn't know his ass from his elbow."

The _Boreas_'s crew sailed her expertly to the Gallic ship. The _Trinite_, he read off her stern.

"Furl all but the gallants! I want to have some control out here!" Nels shouted to the topmen. The Gallic ship had all sails furled; they had been waiting for the Sitnaltans. "Bring me a horn!" and turning to Gates, "Make sure our passengers don't come up. I don't want these bastards getting any ideas of ransom." Gates hustled off.

"Good day you yellow bellied sons of bitches!" A Gallic officer called over in a heavy accent. "We ask that you keep your guns in so we don't have to blow you out of the water and drag your sorry asses to Arendelle!"

The Sitnaltan crew laughed at his taunt. They couldn't sink the _Boreas_ even if it was unarmed.

_Cocky bastard. Probably just trying to piss us off._ Nels looked around the ship. His men clearly hadn't gotten pissed off.

"You're headed to Arendelle?"

"Aye, for the queen's coronation. And we'd hate to have to drag you there with us."

Nels laughed. "Looks like we'll see you at the ceremony. I'll be looking for you." He turned back to his crew. "Loose all! Let's catch that wind!"

The _Boreas_'s sails were unfurled and stunsl's ran out. The ship gave a hard jerk forward as the wind filled her canvas. Within an hour, the Gallic ship was no more than a speck on the horizon.

**Night, Day 4 of the voyage**

_The sailor's body went rigid and he fell forward slowly, his blank face bouncing off the frosted deck. The boy looked down at his trembling left hand. "No!" he screamed, crawling to his knees and cradling his twin's head in his lap. Tears rolled from his eyes, freezing as soon as they fell from his face. The wind died, the snowflakes floated unmoving in the air…_

Nels jolted awake in his hammock. Sweat glistened on his chest and face. His hammock was frozen solid, and frost had spread around the room, coating everything in a layer of white. _Just a dream! Just a dream!_ He mentally screamed to himself as the frost thickened.

"N-Nels?" Alex was staring at him, his eyes wide and scared.

The admiral flew out of his hammock, pulling on his shirt, and out onto the deck.

The summer night was cool against his freezing skin. Nels sprinted to the fo'c's'le at the bow. Ice formed at every footfall._ Goddammit not now, please not now!_ He thought. _Get it together!_ Ice shot out from his hands as he leaned against the railing, his chest heaving and his head filled with the thought of his first battle.

"Goddammit Nels! Get it together!" He shouted. "It was just a dream!"

Alex charged out of the cabin, struggling to pull on a frozen boot. "Nels!"

The admiral turned and lifted his hands from the rail, but hugged them to his sides. "Please Alex just stay away!"

The stubborn prince took a step forward.

"Please! I can't fucking control it! I don't want to hurt you!" Tears streamed from the admiral's eyes.

"Control it? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Goddammit Alex, I killed my brother! I don't want to hurt you too!" Nels shouted to his cousin, almost overcome by his powers.

"What?" Alex finally took a single step back.

Nels's tears froze and shattered as they hit the deck. "Our- it was our first battle! I didn't mean to do it! I couldn't see anything!"

"Nels! Just calm down!"

"I'm trying you fucking moron, but I can't while you're standing out here! Get away from me and we'll both be fine!"

Alex finally gave in, slowly stepping back until he reached the cabin door. He ducked inside, giving the young admiral one last look of concern.

_About time he listens to me,_ Nels thought, trying to joke away the pain he was in. He turned back and rested his hands on the rail. _Remember what father told you. Breathe deep, in through the nose, out through the mouth._ His eyes closed in concentration. _Just breathe. Think nice, warm thoughts. Beaches. That gorgeous nurse in Gibraltar._ His fingers tingled as the ice and frost slowly began retreating. _Sun. Hot tea on a cold morning. The sunrise over the ocean – no, wait, shit – _his concentration broke as he remembered one morning when he was on watch with his brother, Derek. The two had been midshipmen at the time, less than a year before he killed Derek. The glowing ball rose magnificently over the ocean, casting a bright orange glow over the blue seas, which were so calm the ship had seemed to be sailing on glass.

Frost spread out from his hands again. _No no no no no get it under control! Fucking hell, how are you commanding an entire fleet if you can't even melt some ice?_ He shouted to himself in his head. He sighed and resumed breathing.

After about five minutes and two more close calls, the tingling in his hands stopped. _Hate that feeling,_ he thought. _Feels like my hands are asleep._ He lifted his right, then his left, and looked at both. A feeling like adrenaline pumped through his arms and down to his hands. Flurries of snow shot out of his fingertips, causing his hands to glow ice blue in the night. He smiled as he created a small gust and blew the snow into the night air. The moon and stars were obscured behind a thick layer of clouds. His smile dropped immediately. _Storm's coming._

The admiral finally walked back into the cabin. His bare foot crunched against the frost that still coated the deck. _Shit._ Alex was sitting in a frosty hammock. "I owe you some answers don't I?" Nels waved his right hand. The frost rose off the floor and dissolved into thin air. Alex's eyes shot open once again, his face failing at hiding the awe he felt.

"What the hell was that all about?" he demanded as Nels sat in his own hammock.

"I had a nightmare. I was back on the _RSS Chimera_. I lost my bow and couldn't see… I killed Derek." His voice cracked.

"Shit Nels, why didn't you tell me?" Alex asked, the concern in his voice evident.

"Your father forbade it. The only ones who knew were my father and your father."

"So not even Derek or Ysra knew? Just you and me now?"

"It's just you and me."

"So, what are we going to do?"

"I'm going to keep it on the down-low. This isn't exactly the kind of thing you want sailors to know."

Alex looked confused. "What do you mean?"

Nels sighed. "They're superstitious as hell. Can't do anything around them without at least one freaking out about how it'll bring me bad luck."

Alex laughed.

"What?" Nels asked, bewildered.

"You always step on a ship with your right foot first, and toss a coin into the wind every morning."

The admiral was taken slightly aback. "Your point?"

"My point is, is that you're a bloody hypocrite."

Nels sighed. "Fine. I'm a hypocrite. But I need to get some rest."

"Why?" the prince asked.

"Storm's coming. We're going to need to batten down the hatches; this one's going to be huge. I'll tell you everything I know about my powers if we make it through."

**Thanks for reading! Please write me a review, I could use your suggestions. Constructive criticism is encouraged. Again, sorry for the delay in updates, and stay tuned for the next one. It'll be out soon I promise! But while you're waiting, go forth and be a force of awesome! – Coat-Rack96**


	7. Hurricane!

Waves crashed over the railings of the _Boreas_, drenching the crew and washing over the deck. The gray waves pounded the ship relentlessly. Nels stood manning the helm, Lieutenant Gates holding on to the railing for dear life. "Are you crazy?" Gates shouted over the howling wind and pelting rain.

Nels had insisted on sailing the _Boreas_ through the storm, despite every single officer on board telling him to anchor. But his mind was set and he was as stubborn as the sea, and he had experience with sailing through storms, even if most of them were snowstorms that he had accidentally caused.

"Do you really have to ask?" Nels shouted back, water pouring off his hat and running down his face. Another wave washed over the ship, making the two even wetter than they already were.

"No, just making sure! You're beyond crazy!"

The admiral laughed, almost oblivious to the churning peril below them. "And don't you forget it! I've actually sailed through worse than this!"

_Actually, I've CAUSED worse than this. We didn't really sail, just kind of sat there when the sea froze over._ Nels thought.

"Bull SHIT!" Gates yelled back.

"What?" Nels shouted, scared that he might have been thinking out loud.

"I've been in the navy for almost fifteen years! The last three I've either sailed with you or under you. Not even the North Sea in winter gets this bad!"

He kept talking, but thunder roared through the sky, cutting out anything he was saying. The wind gusted, threatening to tear the sails from the mast. "Trim that- BLAUGH- Shit!" Nels coughed as the gray seas washed over the quarter deck. "The topgallant! Trim the main topgallant!" He shouted to the crewmen on deck.

They staggered to the ratlines, half of them losing their footing and the other half having drunk their ration of grog too quickly. "Get up there! Now!" _Dammit this isn't going to end well_ he thought. The topmen reached the sail and began tightening the lines. "Let's go! Hurry!" Nels shouted as a huge wave began to rise up just off the larboard bow.

The gray monster loomed over the ship, as tall as the main topsail, casting a shadow over the crew who remained on deck. Nels's mouth dropped, and Gates uttered a small squeak. Sheer terror shone in their eyes. "Maybe I should have anchored…" the admiral whispered before snapping out of his trance. He scrambled to turn the ship straight into the wave. A hit on one of the broadsides would capsize the ship, and almost none of the crew could swim. Most would be trapped below decks and drown.

Frost began to form on the wheel under the admiral's hands. He glanced down to see ice forming around his feet. _Conceal it! Conceal it! Don't feel! Please don't do this to me now!_ He thought desperately, but the tingle continued to creep down his arms and out his hands. The ship finally faced the monster. "BRACE! ALL HANDS BRACE!" Nels called out. The _Boreas_ hit the mountain of water head-on, the ship going almost vertical as it rode up the behemoth.

The wave began to roll just before the ship reached the peak, smashing into the bow. The topmen were jerked around, their arms wrapped through the lines of the mast. Gates was thrown back, his freezing hands losing grip on the railing.

"Gates!" Nels cried, throwing one hand back to help him. A flurry of snow shot out and landed at the poop, breaking Gates's fall.

The lieutenant stared with wide eyes as the admiral turned back to face the storm. He scrambled back to the quarterdeck as the ship leveled out. "What the hell was that?" He shouted.

The admiral remained staring stoically forward, his jaw tight. He gave no explanation.

"Nels!"

A bolt of lightning flashed, narrowly missing the mizzenmast. "Not now! Fucking hurricaine! Get your ass below and send Peterson or some other sorry bastard up!" Nels shouted over the wind. Thunder shook the ship.

"I'm not leaving just to let some other poor bastard fall to his death! I'm staying here!" A wave washed over him, tearing his hands from the rail once again.

"Have it your way!" Nels shouted, annoyed, and encased the lieutenants hands in ice and froze them to the rail.

Gates's eyes shot open, staring open-mouthed at the ice. He started to speak.

"I said not now!" Nels cut him off.

The storm continued to pound the ship, but the gray sky began to give way to a patch of blue near the horizon.

**AN: Sorry about the short chapter. The rest will all be longer than this, I promise. As always, thanks for reading, please review (I'm serious guys, I have no idea what you think of the story. Even if it's a "stop writing such annoying author's notes," I'm fine with it). I hope you guys all have a great Fourth of July. Try not to blow anybody's fingers off or have something go flying into a bunch of people (been there). What better way to celebrate America than by grilling meat, getting drunk, and setting off explosives? 'Merica!**

**-Coat-Rack96**


	8. Land Ho!

Nels leaned against the wheel. Every muscle in his body ached, his ears rang, and his chest heaved. "We made it…" he gasped to Gates as he watched the clouds recede behind them. The two officers were soaked, and Gates was frozen to the bone. "We actually fucking made it." The admiral tried to stand up straight, but his knees gave out beneath him. Gates sank to the deck, his hands still frozen to the rail.

"Hey Admiral?"

"Yeah?"

"I can't feel my hands," the lieutenant gestured to the rail.

"Oh. Right. Sorry." Nels let go of the wheel, revealing the ice that had formed underneath his hands. He closed his eyes, focused on a warm and happy thought, and gave a quick wave with his hands. The less pleasant, almost static feeling ran through him as the ice drifted off Gates and the wheel. Both officers collapsed and hit the deck hard, their legs failing them.

"Nels?"

"Yeah?" Nels looked to his second in command.

"Never do that again." Gates said, rubbing his wrists.

"Which? The storm or the ice?"

"Either. Both. I don't care. Just don't…"

"Aye, sir," Nels chuckled, a smirk on his face.

The quartermaster and lieutenant Peterson ran up to the exhausted pair. "We can take over from here, sir," the quartermaster offered to Nels, who was slumped against the wheel.

"Could've used you up here an hour ago," Nels said, to which Gates said a quick "Amen to that."

"Where the hell were you?" The admiral finished.

"Had to keep a certain pair of nobles from lighting candles down below. Didn't want them accidentally blowing up the fore magazine."

Nels nodded. "She's all yours, quartermaster," he said, bracing himself on the wheel as he tried and failed to stand up. "Goddammit. Can't even stand."

Two pairs of marines rushed over to help the two officers up. Nels limped between them as they carried him into his cabin and deposited him in his hammock. Too tired to protest, he fell asleep before he even laid his head down.

**Day 6**

"Admiral, get up."

Nels cracked one sleepy eye open. "Go away, sleeping."

"I said get up, _sir,_" the voice said, much sterner and with a hint of sarcasm on the "sir." Nels remained laying down but turned to face his waker.

"You've got ten seconds to fuck off-" he stopped when he realized when he realized he was staring straight into the face of Prince Alex. His eyes shot open in panic and he jumped up and bowed. "Milord. What can I do for you?" he said, taking on a more formal tone of voice.

"To start, cut the shit. You don't have to say 'milord' or 'your royal highness' or any of that until the coronation. Peterson sent me in. He said you've slept long enough and that we'll be arriving at Arendelle within two hours."

Nels nodded. "That's all well and good, but what do you mean 'until the coronation?'"

"You're going to the coronation party too."

Nels gaped. "You're joking right? I'm a sailor, not a goddamn politician."

"Nels, this isn't a joke. You're coming with me."

Nels laughed. "Not a chance in hell. I can't dance, I'm awkward when I have to be formal, and can barely walk on solid ground because it's not tossing and rolling beneath me. I walk like a drunken duck!" He began walking towards the door. "And besides all that, I'm not going to risk another outburst like the other night. Being in a room full of strangers makes me nervous. ESPECIALLY politicians."

Alex sighed, seeing no other way out of this. He fished a small brown square out of his pocket and tossed it to Nels. "Catch!"

Nels caught it and looked at it, confused. "Chocolate?"

"Eat it."

The admiral popped it into his mouth. It was the sweetest, richest chocolate he'd ever taste it. His mout dropped open once he was done. "OH. MY. GOD. Where the hell did you get that?"

Alex smirked, knowing he had Nels right where he wanted him. "That, dear cousin, was Arendellian chocolate. The Swiss and the Belgians don't have shit on the Arendellian chocolatiers. They know their stuff. And there's going to be an endless supply at the coronation for the guests…" he finished as seductively as he could.

_Dammit_, Nels thought. _He tricked me! But that was so good…_ "Fine, I'll go. But only because I'm thinking with my stomach. Speaking of which-" He turned on his heel and walked out onto the deck, then dropped down to steal some "food" from the galley.

**On the poop deck, one hour later**

Lieutenant Gates had finally woken up, and he and Prince Alex stood with Nels.

"My powers are tied to my emotions. It gets harder to control if I'm mad, or scared, or stressed. But most of the time, I can keep it under control with little risk of an outburst."

Gates rubbed his chin. "So you've been able to do this your whole life? You weren't cursed or anything?"

"I was born with them. Father was a bit surprised by it, of course, but yeah, all my life."

It was Alex's turn. "And the cold doesn't bother you?"

"Not at all. I could go skinny-dipping in the North Sea in the dead of winter and be fine. At least, I think I could. I've never tried. Nobody to go with me," Nels said with a wink.

"Ugh." Gates turned away while Alex stifled a laugh.

The _Boreas_ slowly stopped rocking as the ocean entered into a fjord. The waters here were calm, the ship looked like it was floating on glass.

"Only a half-hour more, sir," the quartermaster called from the quarterdeck.

"Anyway, I can control ice and snow and summon blizzards. Remember that storm last winter when the sea began freezing over?" Nels asked Gates.

"That was you?" Gates nearly shouted, incredulous.

"Yep." Nels smirked.

"How did…?"

"I just lost control, like I did the other night. If I keep my emotions bottled up inside me, and try not to feel anything, and just try to shut myself out from the world, it will just explode out of me at the worst times. Like then, King Richard had just died, and you know we were close." The admiral explained. Alex nodded, remembering how hard it had been on both him and Nels when his father had died, and how Nels had practically shut everybody out of his life.

"And then I saw Midshipman Buckley cut in half by chain shot," Nels said, both him and Gates shuddering at the gruesome memory. "But if I let it go, and just stop being so afraid of myself, I can usually avoid hurting anybody. But if all else fails, a pair of gloves can usually stop it." He lifted his hands, showing the white gloves that now covered them. _Just in case,_ he thought to himself.

The _Boreas_ sailed around a small bend in the fjord, and the city came into view. "Land ho!" someone on deck shouted.

The two officers quickly ran to the fo'c's'le and pulled up their telescopes to get a better look.

Saying Arendelle was beautiful was an understatement. The city was almost completely surrounded by mountains, with a stone wall running around the remainder of the city. A small gap in the wall led into a quaint harbor near the city's castle, which stood on a small island. A thin bridge attached the castle to the rest of Arendelle. Houses with steep roofs lined the streets. A small cluster of boats sat in the harbor, bobbing lazily. Nels sighed as he looked the kingdom over, admiring it's natural beauty.

He turned to the crew. "Furl the mains and alert our passengers that we have arrived."

The sailors scrambled to complete his orders, some running below deck to get the duke and duchess, and Rapunzel and Eugene, while the rest went up the ratlines to the lowest yardarm.

With the loss in speed, the _Boreas_ glided smoothly into the harbor. "I thought there'd be more ships here," Gates commented, eyeing the small amount of ships anchored. There were several two-masted brigs, schooners, and a lone galleon. But only two warships sat I the harbor. One was a frigate, it looked to have around thirty guns. The other was a second – rate ship-of-the-line; her broadsides were peppered with gun ports. Both ships looked like they had been neglected for years, never having been polished, re-painted, or even sailed.

_Damn_, Nels thought. _I knew Arendelle wasn't much for fighting, but to only have two ships? And in their condition? King Richard would have mounted all our commanders' balls over his throne if we let this happen_.

Nels turned back to Gates. "Lieutenant, we arrived a day ahead of our schedule. The coronation is actually tomorrow, so there'll be a lot more ship traffic coming in. Sailing through that storm did us some good, eh?"

"You know, I've actually heard some of the sailors and officers calling you 'Suicide' since the storm.

"Suicide? I guess it could be worse."

The crew of the _Boreas_ expertly guided her up to the dock. A harbor master stood at the bottom of the gangplank with a large book tucked under one arm. "You're certainly early," He called to Nels, who now strode down the gangplank with a cocky swagger.

"Storm," was the only explanation he gave. He pulled a small pouch of jingling coins from his pocket. "How much to dock a fifty-four gun man-o-war for two days?"

"Fifty fo- oh my-" the man let out a small squeal as he saw, for the first time, the amount of firepower on the _Boreas_. "Um, that would be," he did some quick mental math. "1,500 Arendellian Talents."

Now it was Nels's turn for surprise. He let out a small whistle and began counting out his money.

"Just put it in your ledger as 'Already paid!'" Alex called down.

Nels looked back up at him. "That would have helped if you'd told me that, oh, ten seconds ago!" Alex just shrugged.

"I'm terribly sorry, sir, milord," the harbormaster stammered. "Have a pleasant stay in Arendelle."

Nels had decided to keep everybody on the ship until the next morning, causing no small amount of grief from the duchess. "You'll get plenty of time to spend in Arendelle tomorrow," was all he had said before trying to tune her out. Eventually he just climbed up the mainmast to get away from her.

_Damn that woman_, he thought as he sat on the highest platform. _I can't believe I have to take her BACK to Sitnalta, too._ He gazed around the fjord. The squawking of the seagulls, the gentle lapping of the waves instead of the roar of the open ocean, no constant threat of death… Nels was beginning to like this place.

**AN: Sorry, this chapter was a bit boring. But we finally reached Arendelle! Thanks for reading, I hope every American reader had a good Fourth of July and nobody lost any fingers. I hope I can keep up the constant updates. Please comment, tell me what you thought and what I should do better. Until we meet again!**

**Coat-Rack96**


	9. Coronation Day

**Disclaimer: Do I really need one of these in every chapter? Fine, I don't own Frozen, just my characters.**

Gulls squawked as more and more ships sailed into the harbor. "Welcome to Arendelle! Watch your step, please!" A greeter stood at the base of the dock giving a warm welcome to the passing dignitaries. "The gates will be opening soon!"

"Merci, monsieur," a lanky Frenchman said as he passed. Nels tipped his hat as he, Alex, Gates, Eugene, and Rapunzel walked up into the city.

" 'The gates will be opening soon?'" Nels shot a glance back to his cousin and the Coronans. "I thought you people normally kept your gates open."

"I guess they don't," Alex replied, looking distractedly around the square the group had walked into. The two officers and Alex stopped, while Rapunzel and Eugene kept walking.

"Punzie and I are heading straight to the castle, we're going to try to get in as soon as possible," Eugene called over his shoulder, leading Rapunzel to the bridge that connected the castle with the city. The walkway was already being flooded by nobles eager to win the new queen's favor.

The trio looked around the bustling square. A group of men raised a cross garlanded with flowers and colorful streamers flowed down to the ground. A small boy raced past, pushing through the three, his mother hot on his heels. "Why do I have to wear this?" He complained as he struggled to pull his coat off.

"Because the queen has come of age! It's coronation day!" The mother said excitedly, no anger in her voice whatsoever.

"That's not my fault!" the boy whined.

Nels couldn't help but laugh at the exchange. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the other two chuckling at the boy and his mother. He heard a voice to his left call out "What do you want, Sven?" against the noise of the square. He looked and saw a burly blonde man with a cart filled with ice teasing a reindeer with a carrot. The reindeer took the entire carrot from the man. "Uh-uh-uh-uh! Share!" the man scolded playfully. The reindeer, who Nels assumed was Sven, spat the carrot back out to the man, who took a bite of the saliva-coated root. Both Alex and Gates grimaced, but Nels just smiled. He led the other two over to the man. "Good morning gentlemen! Could I interest you in some of Arendelle's finest ice, harvested fresh from the mountains just the other day!" The man asked as the three definitely-not-commoners approached him.

"You're selling ice?" Alex almost scoffed at the idea. "What in the world do people buy ice for?"

"Mostly preserving food during the summers, milord," the ice man started. "Our winters are brutally cold, but the summers are just the opposite, and people will use blocks of ice to keep it from spoiling."

_Keep it from spoiling in the heat…_ Nels's eyes shot open. "We'll take it all."

Gates turned to him. "What?"

"Do I have to remind you two of the state of the food on the ship?" both men shook their heads. "It fucking sucks. This man's a genius. Just think of how much longer we'd be able to keep our food fresh if we'd just ice it down a little. Understand, lieutenant?"

"Aye, sir."

"Good. Go grab a handful of sailors and marines and have them transport-" Nels turned to the ice man. "How much do you have?"

"Three dozen blocks of Arendelle's finest ice here on my sleigh, milord."

The admiral turned back to Gates. "Buy us all three dozen and have it hauled back to the _Boreas_. We'll continue on up here. And make sure you tell the guys that our ice came from none other than the honorable mister-" back to the ice man, "What's your name?"

"Bjorgman, sir. Kristoff Bjorgman."

"Tell them to give mister Bjorgman thanks when they bite into a chunk of meat that isn't crawling with maggots."

"Aye sir," Gates sighed and hurried off.

The prince and the admiral thanked Kristoff and began towards the castle. A couple ran ahead of them, a man and a woman, the man saying "I can't believe they're finally opening up the gates!"

"And for a whole day! Faster, Percy!" The woman squealed as she dragged him to the bridge.

"For a whole day? They're opening the gates for just one day?" Nels asked Alex bewildered. "How long have the gates been closed for the people to get this excited?"

"Dunno, Nels. You know just as much as I-"

"Thirteen years," A man cut the prince off. "They've been closed thirteen years." The admiral and prince cast a gaze in the direction the voice came from. They saw two hulking walls of meat with mean faces, but the speaker wasn't anywhere to be seen. They heard him sigh. "_Down here!_" the voice exasperatedly said. They looked down.

The speaker was tiny, not even five feet tall with heels on. An obvious toupee adorned his head, and he wore round eyeglasses and a bushy white moustache. The two thugs flanked him. _Someone has a case of little man syndrome_, Nels thought as he looked back up at the thugs, both of whom were almost seven feet tall.

"And you are…?" Alex asked the tiny man, shooting a wary glance at the towering thugs.

"The Duke of Weselton, milord."

Nels began lunging forward at the man, his fists clenched and raising, only to be caught by Alex and pulled away through the crowd. "Let me at 'im! Let me go, I can take him!"

Weselton and Sitnalta weren't exactly on good terms with each other, with Weselton being focused on draining the vaults and resources of every other nation on the continent, and the Sitnaltans focusing on diplomacy and science, despite being the most powerful naval force at the time.

"Fuck, Alex, let me go!" The prince let go of Nels. "I could've taken his thugs!"

Alex reached back and smacked Nels across the face, drawing stares from some of the surrounding dignitaries. "What the fuck was that? You're the one who said we were here to be promoting peace! So how are we going to do that if you're brawling with the Duke of Weselton and his walking walls of meat?"

Nels's gaze dropped. "I'm sorry, Alex, it's just that – "

"Trust me, Nels, I hate him just as much as you do."

The admiral scoffed. "I doubt that."

The two joined the rest of the crowd in waiting for the gates to open. _For the first time in thirteen years,_ Nels thought. _There may be more to this place than I thought._

**I'm sorry for the delay in updates, thanks for staying vigilant until I got it out. I'll try to have the next one out tomorrow to make up for it. As usual, please review, I could use the help. I hate to try to beg you guys to review, but PLEASE DO IT! Also, do you guys think I should bring the rating down from M to T because of the lack of violence and smut? I don't plan on putting any smut in it, but there will be some violence later on as the shit starts to hit the fan.**

**Thanks for reading, and I'll see you on the flip side.**

**-Coat-Rack96**


	10. For the First Time in Forever

**This wasn't supposed to be the next chapter in the story, I had forgotten to put it in. Sorry about that. The next chapter will still be coming up today, so stay tuned. In the mean time, please enjoy this one.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Frozen and am getting very tired of saying it in every chapter.**

The morning drew on, and the anticipation of seeing the princess and queen was beginning to make the crowd restless. The sun was beating down on the line of dignitaries and citizens, many of whom thought they were going to die of heat stroke. Alex leaned against the low wall as he wiped his brow. "Couldn't you cool us down a bit, Nels? These fancy clothes look good but they're stuffy as hell." The rest of the dignitaries around him were too distracted by the heat to even bother shooting the prince a flabbergasted look.

Nels clapped his hand over Alex's mouth. In a low whisper, he hissed "Shut up! Do you want to get us run out of the city by an angry mob with pitchforks and torches? Do you want Weselton and Sitnalta to hate each other even more? Or Gallica?"

Alex was about to reply when Nels hushed him again. "Do you hear that? It almost sounds like… singing?"

A very faint but incredibly beautiful voice could be heard from the other side of the wall. A few other people began muttering to each other and cocking an ear towards the melody.

"For the first time in forever,

There'll be music, there'll be light!

For the first time in forever,

I'll be dancing through the night!"

The singing stopped about as soon as it had started. There was a considerable amount of grumbling from the rest of the crowd, but Rapunzel's face was lit up like a candle. "She likes to sing," Eugene explained as Nels stared at the princess. "She's just as good as the person we just heard."

"Oh stop it, you," Rapunzel pulled Eugene down and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Ugh," Nels grimaced, "Get a room, you two."

"We have one. You gave it to us," Eugene said, giving the admiral a quick wink.

**Fifteen minutes later, because Anna can't just teleport around the castle, now can she?**

A small commotion at the gates drew the waiting guests' attention. The guards pulled the gates open, and the singing could be heard again.

"The gates!"

A young woman dashed through the gates, only to stop momentarily when she saw the massive crowd in front of her. _Holy shit, is that the princess?_ Nels thought. He elbowed Alex and gestured with his head to the singing girl. Alex shrugged, as if he knew what Nels was thinking. The guests began to surge forward, and the two could only get small glimpses of her. She had beautiful red hair, was wearing a green dress with a black bodice, but couldn't make out any details from this distance. The girl kept singing, but this time, the crowd could hear another voice drifting out from the courtyard.

"For the first time in forever,"

"Don't let them in, don't let them see!" the other voice sang.

"I'm getting what I'm dreaming of!" the redhead was now dancing her way through the crowd, ducking under a giant cake.

"Be the good girl you always have to be!"

The redhead leapt up and grabbed a lamppost. "A chance to change my lonely world!"

The crowd kept moving forward, blocking Nels's view and cutting out the sound of her singing. The other singer stood on a balcony overlooking the courtyard.

"Conceal,

Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know!"

The second singer had stopped. Nels finally lowered his gaze from the balcony and looked around the courtyard. Two fountains flanked the entrance into the castle, just below the balcony that the second singer was standing in. Then it hit him like a broadside from a first rate.

_Conceal, don't feel?_ He thought. _That's almost exactly what father told me to do when I was struggling with my powers._ He looked down to his gloved hands.

There was definitely something going on here in Arendelle. And he intended to find out what.

**I really liked writing the singing parts, but I don't know if I'll do more, because I'm not creative enough to come up with A. My own music, or B. My own version of one of the songs. But I do have another song planned toward the end that I saw on tumblr and thought "That's genius, I'm going to use that," while at the same time crying my eyes out. So I'll now ask you: Should I have Nels sing? At any point in the story? If so, what song could he do (like have him do a sea chanty or something). Anyway, thanks for reading, sorry about the mistake, and I'll see you all in a little bit.**

**-Coat-Rack96**

**PS. Thanks for the 6 favs and 6 follows! It means a lot to me, with this being my first fic.**


	11. The Coronation

**AN: Sorry this is a bit late, I fell asleep typing it and went camping over the weekend. But I hope you guys enjoy it anyway. So without further ado, I give you: The Coronation**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Frozen.**

The dignitaries and guests sat in pews in the castle's chapel, eagerly awaiting the ceremony, but even more anxious for the ball that would follow. A choir above the altar sung a beautiful song in Norwegian. Nels and Alex sat about halfway back in the chapel, without a very clear view of the altar. The Duke and Duchess of Victoria had finally quieted down, and the ceremony began.

The two singers from the courtyard, who Nels now realized were the princesses, stood next to a priest who was holding what Nels assumed to be the symbols of royalty in Arendelle. A golden scepter and a small golden ball with a name that he couldn't place, nor did he really care to try. He wasn't much for caring about insignificant facts.

The queen stepped forward to take the two objects before being briefly halted by the priest, who requested she remove her gloves. Even as far back as he was, Nels could see her hands shaking as she lifted the two symbols of the cushion and turned to face the crowd. The priest recited a small phrase in Old Norse. _Of course they teach us fucking Latin in the Navy. What the hell is the use of a dead language? At least Old Norse is still spoken_, Nels thought, frustrated that he couldn't translate. "What's he saying?" he whispered to Alex, who somehow knew Old Norse.

"As she holds the holy properties and is crowned in this holy place, I give you…" the prince translated.

"Queen Elsa of Arendelle!" The priest finished.

The entire crowd stood and repeated "Queen Elsa of Arendelle!" The sound reverberated off the walls of the small chapel. Queen Elsa had whirled around and put her gloves on again, completely disregarding the two royal symbols and placing her hands modestly in front of her.

**The coronation ball**

A quartet played a quick tune as the guests spun around and clapped to the rhythm on the dance floor. Nels stood near the throne, away from most of the crowd, a glass of champagne in his hand. He had been talking to several foreign dignitaries earlier. The French dignitary was very polite, at least for a Frenchman, and had given the admiral some tips on how to talk with women. The Spaniard behaved as expected, being no less than jovial and just tickled pink to meet Nels. And the emissary from the Southern Isles, a young prince by the name of Hans Westerguard, had caught his attention. Sitnalta and the Southern Isles were friendly enough, considering both hated Gallica, and neither were too fond of Weselton either. But something about this prince…

_He really rubbed me the wrong way,_ Nels thought as he sipped his champagne and frowned, both at the bubbly drink and Hans. _He was so obsessed with Princess Anna, why he was asking me anything I have no idea. He knew more about her than I did, than half of the people here, I'd guess._ _And those sideburns,_ the admiral grimaced, and decided the champagne just wasn't quite strong enough. He set his glass down, slipped a hand into his coat, and pulled out a flask of Sitnaltan firewater. He put it down like it was nothing, not even flinching or giving the slightest hint of a cough. His throat felt like it was melting. _I guess that's why they call it firewater,_ he thought, starting to put the flask away.

A hand shot out of nowhere, grabbing his wrist. "Really, Nels?" Alex asked. "Champagne just not good enough for you?"

The admiral shrugged, glancing around at the dancing nobles. "I guess. I'm just trying not to lose control."

"So you stand in a corner, drinking? How many times were you dropped when you were little?"

Nels chuckled. "More than my fair share." He yanked his arm free and took another swig.

"Come on, Nels, this party is amazing! At least three young ladies have already asked me to marry them, and even more want me to introduce you to them!"

"I told you I'm bad with people, Alex. I'm not moving from here."

"If you're trying not to lose control, then put the damn flask away, and go and mingle with people!"

Nels opened his mouth to reply, completely ready to cause a scene, when the song ended and the band began playing a different song. An announcer stood next to the throne and called out "Queen Elsa of Arendelle!" the new queen strode regally in front of the crowd and took her place in front of the throne. Her head was held high, and she seemed to radiate an aura of power, despite being so young. "Princess Anna of Arendelle!" Princess Anna, the redhead, dashed out in front of the crowd before giving an awkward little wave and having to be placed next to her sister by the announcer. The entire crowd applauded the new monarch.

"She's worse than I am!" Nels laughed to Alex.

"At least she tries." Alex turned away to talk to an emissary from Belgium.

"Eat shit. Oh hey," he tugged Alex's sleeve. "Look who it is!" He pointed at the Duke of Weselton, who now stood in front of the queen and princess. The tiny man went through a small flurry of what Nels assumed was a show of his dancing skills, but ended up looking like a fool when he finished with a bow and his toupee fell off. The two cousins stifled laughs as the Duke dragged Princess Anna to the dance floor and proceeded to give her several broken toes, scoliosis, and mental scarring so deep that no shrink would be able to cure her. They had broken out into full laughter by the time she had dragged herself back to the throne.

"Now's our chance! Let's go get the announcer and meet them!" Alex squealed like a child.

**The throne**

"Your majesty, Grand Prince Alexander of Sitnalta and Vice Admiral Nels Erakson the Fearless of the Royal Sitnaltan Navy!" the announcer bellowed.

The two men bowed to the queen and princess. "'The fearless?'" Nels whispered to Alex. "When the hell did I get a title?"

"After you decided to sail through a damn hurricane."

The two straightened out, their cheeks still rosy from laughter. They stood about half a head taller than the girls, even with the platform the queen and her sister were standing on. Nels's jaw dropped as he came face to face with the queen. She was more beautiful than he could have ever imagined. Her eyes were as blue as ice, her skin as pale and as flawless as porcelain, and her blonde hair was tucked up behind her head in a bun. He had to consciously close his mouth before he started to drool. His eyes traveled further down her body, showing him her curvy figure, which was well concealed by the dress she was wearing. It was turquoise, with a matching bodice, and a black top underneath. A long purple cape adorned her shoulders. The dress appeared to be made of velvet, and Nels, who was overheating in his cotton dress blues, wondered how she wasn't having a heat stroke. He didn't believe in love at first sight, but with that first look at the queen, he, just like every other man in the room, was smitten.

_Just remember what the Frenchman taught you…_ He stepped forward, placed his hands on either side of her head, and kissed both her cheeks, causing her face to redden. He did the same to Princess Anna, noticing a small white streak in her hair as he did so. _Just like Derek and Emily,_ he thought. His hand brushed the streak, and even through his glove, he could feel how much colder it was than the rest of her hair.

The two princesses were blushing furiously, the announcer, and Alex were staring at Nels with horrified expressions on their faces. "Excuse us for a moment, your majesty," Alex managed before dragging Nels away."

"Wait, what? Did I do it wrong?" Nels cried out as Alex dragged him back into the crowd.

When they reached an open spot, Alex whirled around and slapped Nels. "What the hell was that?"

"For God's sake, stop slapping me! The Frenchman said to-"

"Goddammit Nels, you're taking love lessons from a Frenchman? And also, you're hitting on the queen? Hey!" He snapped his fingers in front of Nels's face who was now staring ceaselessly at the queen, ignoring him.

"I just thought that's how you people greeted each other!" Nels distractedly protested.

"You people?!"

"You know, royals."

"Nels, please, just don't mess this up-" the admiral completely tuned his cousin out, returning to staring at the queen. _She's blonde, unlike her sister. That painting in the hallway showed their parents as red and dark brown. Her sister has a white streak - she always wears the gloves._ His gaze drifted down to his own gloved hands. _And the streak is cold…_ Nels's body temperature was much lower than that of normal people, who usually felt very hot to him. But Elsa… she'd felt almost… normal. He racked his brains, trying to piece this together. The white streak in Anna's hair was as cold as ice, and identical to the ones that had appeared on his brother and sister's heads after he'd struck them. And the castle gates had been locked for thirteen years.

_Is Elsa like me?_ He wondered. He finally looked back up at the sisters. Anna had said… something to Elsa, who had turned away. Anna excused herself and walked away sadly while Elsa just sort of stood there. _Why doesn't she go after her?_ He looked around. _Of course. Conceal, don't feel. If I'm right, she's probably having a hard time keeping herself collected, on the biggest day of her life, surrounded by morons. It'd be enough to break me._

"You didn't hear a word I just said, did you?" Alex asked, jerking Nels back to reality.

"Wait, what?" Nels asked, completely lost.

"Didn't think so. I stopped talking like a minute ago. You've been staring at the queen, and I think you're starting to freak her out."

Sure enough, Elsa was glancing back at Nels every once in a while, but jerking her eyes away when she saw he was still watching her. Finally, she gave a little wave to him, smiling uncomfortably. He waved back and began walking towards her, bowing when he reached her.

_So much for making a good impression_, he thought when he stood. The queen was obviously still creeped out.

"Your majesty, I apologize for my earlier behavior, and for staring at you nonstop. It's just that I'm not used to being around people, we're awkward – I mean I'm awkward, you're gorgeous – wait, what?" He stopped, realizing he was just digging himself a deeper grave.

But Elsa was trying not to laugh at the awkward admiral. Alex had facepalmed but was laughing hysterically at his bumbling cousin.

Nels decided to try to start over, even though it was too late. "Your majesty, I was wondering if, uh… I mean I'd be honored if you would…"

"Your majesty, I think he's asking you to dance," Alex managed to finish for him.

Queen Elsa regained (or at least tried to) her regal composure. "Thank you admiral, only I don't dance. But my sister – "

"My lady, I apologize for interrupting again, but neither does he. But I can promise you that he's not nearly as bad as the duke of Weasel Town," Alex interjected. "Please. You're the first woman besides his sister he's actually been able to talk to."

_So he's trying to play the pity card. I guess he knows what he's doing_, Nels thought.

Queen Elsa sighed, knowing they wouldn't take no for an answer. First her sister walking out, now these two. They were funny, sure, but this night wasn't quite turning out as good as she'd hoped. "Admiral, I would be honored to." She offered him her hand and walked to the dance floor with Nels.

Unlike the Duke, Nels actually could dance. He was better than Elsa, but that wasn't saying much. Being locked up in isolation for thirteen years hadn't helped her social skills much, but from what she got from Nels, neither did sailing. Her heart pounded as the couple danced. She was grateful that she had her gloves on, feeling the fear build up inside. He led as they waltzed around the dance floor, in the middle of a circle of other dancers, who eyed Nels jealously. He tripped over his own feet at least twice, stepped on the queen's trailing cape, and accidentally stepped on her foot. But she stepped on him about a dozen times. Their clumsy dancing had worked wonders to calm her down. Nels's toes ached as he led her back to the throne. "Thank you, my lady."

"Your majesty," Kai interrupted, now with the French and Spanish dignitaries in tow.

"Excuse me," the admiral said as he scurried off to find Alex.

Princess Anna and Prince Hans walked back into the ballroom, hand in hand, smiling from ear to ear. _This ought to be good_, the admiral thought as they made a beeline straight for the queen. He abandoned his search for Alex.

"There she is! Elsa! I mean, Queen, me again," Anna said, interrupting the queen's conversation with the two dignitaries. The princess cleared her throat. "May I present Prince Hans of the Southern Isles."

Prince Hans bowed to the queen. "Your majesty." He and Anna giggled. "We would like – "

"– Your blessing –"

" – Of our marriage!" the two finished in unison.

_I was right, this IS getting good!_ Nels thought as the happy couple worked out all the details of their wedding.

"No one's brothers are staying here, nobody is getting married!" Queen Elsa interrupted their fantasy.

"Wait, what?"

"May I speak to you please? Alone?" the queen glanced around quickly, then back to her sister.

"What, no. Whatever you have to say, you can say to both of us."

Elsa sighed. To Nels, it looked like she was going to say something else to Anna. "Fine. You can't marry a man you just met."

"But it's true love!" the princess protested.

"Anna, what do you know about true love?"

"More than you, all you know is how to shut people out!" Anna cried. Elsa recoiled slightly, trying not to let the pain show.

_Should I do something?_ Nels asked himself. _If I'm wrong, I'll look like a fool. But I already look like a fool. Dammit, I have to do SOMETHING or this party could get a whole lot cooler._ He facepalmed. _Great, now I'm making puns._

Elsa had begun to walk away. "The party is over. Close the gates." A guard ran off to execute her orders.

"Elsa, please!" Anna rushed forward to grab her sister, accidentally grabbing the glove off her left hand.

"Give me my glove!" Elsa shouted, making a grab for it with her right hand, tucking her left one away. _Oh shit_,Nels thought and rushed forward to intervene.

"I can't live like this anymore!"

_The gates closed for thirteen years, opened only for today._ Nels's eyes widened in fear. _She can't control it._

"Enough Anna," Elsa growled back. Nels finally reached Anna, sensing the queen was about to lose her cool. He put a hand on the princess's arm.

"Anna, please. Stop." He tried taking the glove from her.

She pulled away. "No, why? Why do you shut me out – "

"Anna, stop!"

" – Why do you shut the world out?"

"Anna, goddammit she's had enough!" Nels almost shouted.

"What are you so afraid of?" Anna shouted, unaware that every eye in the room was facing them.

"I SAID ENOUGH!" Queen Elsa whirled around, blue light shooting out of her left hand, forming a half circle of wicked spikes around her. Everybody in the ballroom jumped back, except Nels. He tore the glove out of Anna's surprisingly strong hand.

"Sorcery," The Duke of Weselton whispered. "I knew there was something dubious going on here!"

Elsa was paralyzed with fear as the entire crowd just stared at her with fear in their eyes. All but three looked at her as if she was a monster. The admiral began taking small steps forward, his hands held out in front of him as if he were trying to calm down a child. "Elsa-"

The queen pushed through the doors and ran down the hallway. The Duke and his thugs immediately gave chase, screaming "monster" the entire way. Anna, Hans, and Nels sprinted after them. Nels heard an explosion from down the corridor. _Shit, that can't be good,_ he thought until he saw the three other men sprawled on the steps, ice and frost all around them. _Never mind, she's doing just fine,_ he thought with a small chuckle, making sure to kick the Duke as he ran by. Everybody was too distracted by the queen's outburst to notice the small patches of ice forming at his own feet.

"Elsa!" Anna cried out. The three ran out of the courtyard through one of the side entrances, emerging at the shore of the fjord. Elsa was standing there backing away from them slowly, ice forming at her own feet. She glanced back, and saw the fjord freezing beneath her. Giving one last look to her sister, she turned and dashed across the black water, turning the surface to ice with each step. "Elsa! Stop, please!" Anna shouted once more before slipping on the ice. Hans knelt down next to her. Nels ran past the two, gaining on the fleeing queen.

"Goddammit Elsa, we're not going to hurt y-" he tripped and smacked his face off the ice, sliding until he came to a stop. "Elsa, please!" He shouted, pulling himself to his knees. He lifted his hand to his face, covering his now bleeding nose. A small flurry danced through the air around him. The queen, the beautiful young sorceress, reached the other side of the fjord, still in a dead sprint. Nels's next words were no more than a whisper and nothing less than the truth.

"Please… I love you…"

**Whew! 3,000 words, by far my longest chapter yet. Sorry if the end disappointed any of you, made you mad, etc. but it's what I had planned for this part. But, as usual, thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it, and please leave me a review. Seriously, will somebody please write one? I don't like begging like this so please just do it. But anyway, thanks again, I'll see you soon. And please tell your friends about this story if you haven't already. And remember: go forth and be a force of awesome!**

**-Coat-Rack96**


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